


We Still Remember

by Emeli_Thorne



Series: My Forever Is Yours [5]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Smut, shane almost has a heart attack 'cause of them, some angst bcs why not, tess and shane make the best team, tess consoles him, the walsh babies are being a little rebelious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 19:12:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeli_Thorne/pseuds/Emeli_Thorne
Summary: Tess comes back from work to find her husband asleep and their kids up to some shenanigans





	We Still Remember

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PF23](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PF23/gifts).



> Inspired by a photo prompt by allinourprivate-traps
> 
> Guuurl you are playin’ with my feels, and I love it!
> 
> Timeline: Tess and Shane have been married for two years now. Sylvie is six years old, and their son is three and a half years old.

[photo prompt](https://a-joyfuljourney.tumblr.com/post/159649259113)

 

Tess unlocks the door to their house, tiredly toeing off her sneakers and hanging her bag on the hook by the door. Turning her head clockwise and counter-clockwise a few times, she attempts to get rid of the stiffness settled in her neck. Coming home after working since seven that morning felt like walking through the gates of heaven to her. The familiarity of their home, the mere smell of it soothes her nerves and makes her smile.

The store she took up working at for some additional income was scheduled for inventory and they needed all hands on deck. It meant spending her entire day away from her family, and as much as she liked the extra money she got from this second job, being away from her loved ones was a high price to pay.

As she trudges to the living room, Tess realises that something strange is afoot. The house is enveloped in silence, not a sound can be heard. For a household usually pulsating with activity and noise, this is an unusual and unwelcoming occurrence.

When she reaches the living room, the first thing she sees is her husband lying on his stomach. He’s asleep on the couch, his feet dangling of the armrest, and barely perceptible snores reach her. His white t-shirt has ridden up slightly to reveal the dip of his lower back and Tess can’t help but lick her lips at the sight. Even after all these years, her thirst for him has yet to be quenched.

She comes up to him, sitting on the couch and pressing a kiss to his forehead as her fingers start carding through his hair. Shane starts shifting and groaning, his sleepy voice mumbling “Tess?” and it’s one of the cutest ways he says her name. It makes her grin and blush at the same time and fills her heart with so much tenderness for this man.

“Yeah, baby. I just got home. Kids in bed already?” she asks because they’d usually be up and running around, wreaking havoc in the house.

Rubbing his eyes as sits up, his hair stuck to one side of his head, Shane yawns. “Kids? What?” He’s still half asleep, his words still sound jumbled.

“The kids. They in bed already?” she repeats, running her fingers down his forearm.

Panic seizes his face momentarily, his eyes going wide. “Aren’t they-” he stops to look around the room as alarm bells sound off in Tess’ head.

There’s no one in the room but the two of them, the kids’ toys laying around abandoned.

“Sylvie! Pete!” Shane’s on his feet and yelling their names as he goes from room to room and Tess joins him, fight back the tears in her eyes.

Dark thoughts fill her mind but she fights them because she doesn’t want to scare Shane even more and she doesn’t want to think something bad happened to their children. The doors were definitely locked when she came home, so they couldn’t have left the house. She’s rushing into the hallway to grab her phone and call Lori to check if she saw them around the neighbourhood just as she hears Shane shouting from the back of the house.

 “What the hell are you two doin’ here?”

Leaving her phone in the bag, she follows her husband’s angry voice and their children’s giggles.

She finds all three of them in the bathroom.

Shane is standing at the threshold, hands on his hips as he glares at their two children playing in the bathtub. The bathroom smells of lavender. Sylvie has her bathing suit on and Pete’s in his shorts. Looking around, Tess soaks in the mess they made.

Water is all over the bathroom floor, wet towels thrown around carelessly, a roll of toilet paper is in the toilet. The bathroom mirror is dirty with water droplets and the shower curtain has been ripped from its rod.

Their children are still giggling even though their father just yelled at them.

“Dada! Pete and Sylvie swim!” Pete exclaims, splashing Sylvie with water, making her laugh and splash him back. The water in the bathtub shifts with their movements, some of it making its way on the floor again.

“Enough! Sylvie, what did I tell you?” Shane’s steaming with anger, exasperation clear in his voice as he grabs dry towels from the cabinet. “No playing in the bathroom, especially if your mom or I ain’t here!”

He motions for her to get out and she does so, all quiet, head bowed as she worries her lip between her teeth. “Pete wanted to swim!”

Tess picks up Pete from the tub as Shane hands her a towel and they start drying their kids, rubbing the towels up and down their bodies.

“Enough. What if something happened to you or your brother while I was sleepin', ha? You can’t do whatever you want, Sylvie!” Shane’s trembling voice reveals just how scared he is, as do his shaky hands as he helps Sylvie out of her swimsuit and wraps her into her favourite fluffy towel.

Pete avoids looking at Tess, instead focusing on his sister who is looking at him with tears in her eyes. In seconds, Pete will start crying because he can’t stand seeing his sister sad. To avoid yet another disaster this evening, Tess turns around and sits him on a stool as she takes off his shorts and starts talking to him in a lowered tone.

“Pete, what did daddy say, ha? No doing shenanigans when we’re not there to look after you guys,” Tess says as she runs the towel over his hair and back and her son just nods, eyes cast downwards, hands intertwined in his lap.

Neither of the kids speaks as their parents take them into Sylvie’s bedroom. They change them into clean pyjamas and tuck them into Sylvie’s bed since they wanted to sleep in her room.

“I’m sorry, daddy. I’m sorry, mommy. I won’t do it again, promise,” Sylvie tells them as she hugs Shane and he rubs her back. “We just wanted to have some fun.”

Shane smooths down her hair and kisses her cheek. “Honey pie, you scared me, you scared mommy. Never again, okay?”

She nods as Pete gets up, walks around the bed and wraps his arms around Tess’ legs. “I’m sowwy too, mommy. Pwomise I won’t scawe you again.”

Tess lifts him up in her arms and he snuggles his head into her neck, his fingers playing with her hair. She kisses his chubby cheek, then says, looking at him then at Sylvie who is already tucked under the covers,

“Don’t play with water again and don fill the tub alone. And don’t touch any of the shampoos or bubbly things from the bathroom.”

Sylvie sits up abruptly, yelling “But we didn’t! It was like that when we went there.”

Tess' gaze falls on her husband who is rubbing his neck, not meeting her eyes. “I made you a bath. Wanted to surprise you when you got home. I should’ve locked the bathroom door.”

Sighing, Tess goes to the bed and lets Pete crawl over to Sylvie, settling under the covers as Sylvie hugs him.

“Well, daddy. That was very sweet but you need to be more careful next time, alright?” Tess  wraps her arm around his waist and kisses his biceps. She can only assume the scenarios in his mind and the guilt he feels now.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, pumpkins,” he kneels next to the bed, his voice sounding choked as he apologises to them.

“It’s my fault, daddy. I shouldn’t’ve done this.”

Tess and Shane give them a goodnight kiss before turning off the lights and leaving the siblings to sleep.

They go to their bedroom, and as soon as they enter and close the door Shane's on his knees, tears streaming down his face. “They could’ve, could’ve... Tess, I-”

Tess kneels beside him and draws him into her arms, resting his head on her shoulder as he wraps his arms around her and sobs. She tries to console him but Shane keeps blaming himself. He’s shaking, his sobs vibrating through his body that Tess starts crying too. The scare over, they both allow themselves to cry out their fear of what could have happened, but luckily didn’t.

“I’m so sorry, darlin’. So so sorry,” he’s grabbing onto her, holding her so tight and whimpering apologies.

“Shhh. It’s okay, baby. Everythin’ fine. Everythin’s fine.”

They stay like that for a couple of minutes until they are both calmer, until Shane stops shaking and his tears dry out.

Then Tess is standing up and Shane follows. They get rid of their clothes never breaking their gazes, and not bothering with pyjamas crawl under the covers, naked. Shane hands are all over her, lips marking every inch of her skin as he impresses his apology over and over again on her body.

Her moans absolve him, but they’re not enough for him. When he kisses her, she tastes his tears and the sorrow behind them.

“The babies are fine, Shane. Let it go, baby. Let it go.”

He brings her to her peak a couple of times that night and after he’s done, he presses a few more kisses along the scar on her stomach then leans his forehead against it, still catching his breath.

“I know, baby. I know. They’re okay. We’re okay.”

Painful memories still haunt them both; memories of failed pregnancies, of countless tests, staying at the hospital and praying their little wonder survives.

It’s times like these that bring those memories to surface.

It’s times like these they hold onto each other with all their might and promise to stay together and take care of each other no matter what.

They are thankful for their babies and for finding each other.

 “Let it go,” she says and he finally does, collapsing next to her, his arm holding her tightly in his embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and/or comment on the fic, it really makes my day.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at lightblindingme


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